Best Dry Dog Food For Puppies
If you’re wondering whether your puppy really needs a special food just for younger dogs, the answer is yes! Puppies need more calories, more fat, and a different vitamin and mineral balance to support healthy growth, Shepherd explains. Typically, puppy food is made for dogs under 1 year of age.
Though there aren’t any official AAFCO nutrient standards specifically for small and large breeds, some puppy foods are made specially for dogs of different sizes. “Balancing the nutrient needs of dogs given their wide size variety and ages is wise and common sense,” says Dodds. For instance, large breed puppies need a special ratio of calcium to phosphorus for their growing big bones, and they can benefit from supplements such as glucosamine and chondroitin to help keep their joints healthy, according to Shepherd. On the flip side, puppy foods for smaller breeds often have smaller kibble pieces for smaller mouths. They may also be a bit higher in calories, since smaller breeds can have higher metabolisms.
If you want to make sure a food is appropriate for puppies, check the label for an AAFCO complete and balanced statement that says it’s intended for growth for all life stages. Some foods might also specifically state that they’re for younger dogs. Keep an eye out for any food that says “maintenance” on the package. These are meant specifically for adult dogs, so they won’t be right for a puppy.
Blue Divine Delights Prime Rib Flavor
First 5 Ingredients: Beef, Beef Broth, Water, Chicken Liver, Carrots
Blue Buffalo Divine Delights Prime Rib Flavor Hearty Gravy Dog Food Trays is a grain-free wet dog food that is ideal for small breed adult pups. The meaty chunks in gravy are served in convenient trays in portions that are perfect for small dogs.
Made of real beef, this prime rib recipe serves up a flavor and protein packed meal in every tray. It also has chicken liver which adds a rich texture, as well as chicken which adds a savory chicken goodness to the meal. It has beef broth that makes this recipe a tasty way to add more hydration to your dogs diet. Its protein content is 8%.
The main source of carbs in Blue Buffalo Divine Delights Prime Rib Flavor food trays are carrots. It also has potatoes. These hearty veggies add nutrients, flavor, and texture to this dish.
Carrots are an excellent source of beta carotene, fiber, Vitamin K1, potassium and antioxidants. Whole, fresh potatoes provide easily digestible carbohydrates, vitamins B & C, potassium, iron and magnesium.
As this prime rib recipe is fortified with vitamins and minerals, it can be served on its own as a meal. These conveniently-packaged meals are great for travelling with your pup. It can also be used as a meal topper to add more moisture to your dogs dinner.
Complete And Balanced Nutrition
Another prime consideration in selecting dog food is the nutrient content. Make sure that you get your pups dog foods with sufficient essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to better protect them from various illnesses.
Vitamins A, C, E, and various Bs are all vital to a dogs overall health, and so are several other minerals like iron, zinc, and potassium. Omega fatty acids are also fundamental needs for dogs for healthy skin and coat, heart, and immune system.
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Meet Blue Life Protection Dog Food
Blue Buffalo got started in the search for the best food for a familys beloved Airedale Terrier, Blue. Since then, the company has produced consistently high-quality foods, often in formulas meant to address specific situations such as allergies, gluten intolerance, or specific life stage issues.
Blue Life Protection features only high-quality meats for solid protein sources plus health fruits and vegetables for power packed nutrition. None of their recipes contain by-product meals, fillers such as corn or soy, or any artificial flavors or preservatives.
The company has one of the widest ranges of life stages and size specific foods of any holistic brand, giving you plenty of options for your furry companion.
What the family found in the search for Blues best food is passed to you so that you always know youre giving your dog the best food option available. You can find it in a wide variety of stores as well as online, and there should be enough variety of recipes to suit your individual dog with very few exceptions.
Lets take a look at how Blue Life Protection can benefit your dog and how you can use the individual recipes to improve your dogs overall health and provide the building blocks to a lifetime of well-being.
Blue Basics Lamb And Potato Moist Food

- Overall: 4 out of 5
- Flavor: 4 out of 5
- Ingredients: 4 out of 5
- Packaging: 4 out of 5
On Chewy and Amazon, this food from Blue has a 4 4.5-star review across 250 reviews. The formula is the same as every other food weve touched in the article it limits the ingredients to help dogs with food sensitivities, and the food is supposed to contain its protein throughout with nothing else.
Some of the first ingredients in the can are lamb, lamb broth, lamb liver, potatoes, peas, and pumpkin. We find their packaging and advertising to be congruent with expectations, and thats part of why they have such an excellent reputation. If the food says lamb and potato, it contains mostly lamb and potato.
Online reviewers state that they love the fact that the food contains no chicken because their dog is allergic. They said another food they purchased said no chicken but included chicken by-product. Others say its great for picky eaters with sensitive stomachs.
Most of the critical reviews state that the food doesnt look appetizing, has a strong odor, and is very dry.
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Company Reputation And Quality Control Issues
There are many holistic and boutique dog foods today that sound good to consumers because they place an emphasis on healthy food. They claim to use premium and/or natural ingredients. However, many of these companies have only been in business a short time and, unfortunately, they have often had quality control problems.
In the case of Blue Buffalo, there have been a number of complaints about their foods and several food recalls. In addition to the 2007 recall when their co-packer was using ingredients in their foods which the company did not know about, Blue Buffalo had to recall food in 2010-11 because of overdoses of vitamin D in the food. The Better Business Bureau in Connecticut showscomplaints about the company which have not been resolved. The Federal Trade Commission also made the company change their web site and remove certain claims about their foods per this letter.
Simply Nourish Lamb & Oatmeal Recipe Adult
If you are fed up with every kibble you give your dog being full of chicken, then try this option from Simply Nourish.
This recipe starts with deboned lamb as its first ingredient, and then uses turkey meal and lamb meal to boost the protein content. There is no chicken in this recipe, with additional fats found in canola oil and sunflower oil.
For carbohydrates, we have brown rice, oatmeal, and barley. There is enough of it to add a good level of fiber to this recipe, but not too much, so overall, the kibble is still very high in protein.
The nutrient pack used in this recipe is great, but it also contains things such as dried carrots, dried cranberries, and dried kale to ensure that your dog is also getting some of their vitamins and minerals in a natural way from fresh food. The resulting recipe is low calorie, but pretty high in cost.
Pros
Cons
- Expensive
If you are looking to vary the types of meat your dog eats and reduce the amount of chicken in their daily diet, this quality kibble from Simply Nourish is worth a look.
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Is Blue Buffalo Dog Food Bad For Yourdog
When you are looking for a good dog food recipe, you will be wanting to know whether or not Blue Buffalo is the right brand for your dog.
You will want to know whether or not this brand is better than other brands and what kind of ingredients they use. There are some tips that can help you make this decision.
First of all, you should find out whether or not Blue Buffalo dog food is actually bad for your dog.
If you believe it is, you should read up on the various Blue Buffalo dog food ingredients so that you can find out whether or not they are safe for your dog.
If you choose to feed your dog with this brand, you shouldconsider using a homemade dog food diet.
When you first see that Blue Buffalo dog food does not containany harmful ingredients, you might decide to purchase it. However, it might notbe the best brand for your dog. You will need to check to see what the otherchoices are before you make the choice.
You should also look into how other people feel about BlueBuffalo. This should help you determine whether or not you are making the rightchoice for your dog. You should compare the various opinions as well as findout what exactly your dogs diet consists of.
Another thing that you should think about when it comes to BlueBuffalo dog food is the cost. You may be thinking that you cannot afford it,but you should be able to find a cheaper option. If you are looking for a cheapalternative, you should start by looking at recipes online for your dog.
Blue Buffalo Dog Food Lawsuit: Everything You Should Know
You may have seen a very interesting statement by the U.S. Dog Food Association, Congress Should Not Allow Courts to Decide Whether Dog Food Companies are Under-Responsible.
In other words, if we are not under-responsive to our dogs, theyshould be allowed to sue for lack of quality?
Well that is interesting, isnt it?
Im sure you could see a flaw in that argument, but in truth, there would be a large flaw in that argument if the said organization said they dont care if they are selling pet food that is unsafe for our pets or food that will be poisoning them and/or other pets.
This type of hypocrisy is disturbing and as more individuals tobuy into the new pet food market and become aware of the dangers, it is goingto be quite challenging to continue such a position.
There are other lawsuits involving pet food that have already been filed and it appears to me that in this case, the dog food companies are going to have a hard time putting their name on the line and defend their actions.
Even if they were to win in court, is the person or company liable for the injuries and death that have occurred?
Or, can you sue for the minor problem when the dog ingested a deadly amount of poison or died because of improper feeding practices?
These types of questions should be answered by our legislators to protect not only our dogs but to protect ourselves and our families from the pet food industry.
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Is Blue Buffalo Life Protection A Good Dog Food
Blue Buffalo Life Protection is a plant-based dry dog food using a moderate amount of named meat meals as its main sources of animal protein, thus earning the brand 4 stars. Decent meat and carbohydrate content, making this a good food for less active dogs. A great list of fruits and vegetables, and tons of vitamins.
Our Picks For Fresh Dog Food:
There’s definitely a relationship between price and quality when it comes to dog food. So it’s not a great idea to buy the absolute cheapest dog food you can find. That’s because ultra-cheap dog foods tend to be filled with lower-quality ingredients to bulk them up and keep their prices down.
“But it’s important to remember that there are many more affordable dog foods that are perfectly good options,” Richardson notes. Translation: You definitely don’t need to break the bank to feed your dog a healthy diet.
There are plenty of high-quality dog foods available at lower prices. As long as a food meets AAFCO complete and balanced standards like the options listed below and makes sense for your dog’s life stage, you’re good to go.
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How Does Blue Buffalo Dog Food Rate
Congrats on making it this far, or maybe this is the only reason youre here? Either way, heres our take on Blue Buffalo after everything weve seen and covered so far. We like Blue Buffalo, a lot, we really do! Its one of the leading holistic dog food brands in the United States for good reason, it produces quality dog food. We rate Blue Buffalo a strong 4 out of 5 stars.
When it comes to Blue Buffalo: Its a strong company with a now even stronger giant as its owner. We like the only U.S. sourced natural ingredients goal the company strives to live by , aiming at making pet food as healthy, holistic, and natural as possible.
But: What we are a little weary of is the fact that the company has lied to consumers in the past and even ran hypocritical pervasive advertising claims against their competitors. Whether they had no idea of it or not, at the end of the day, it makes a 5 out of 5 stars rating for them just out of reach.
Blue Life Protection Formula

The Blue Life Protection Formula recipes cater to overall well-rounded diets. They have specialized bags for your dogs stage of life and breed size. Most of the meats used in this line of food are chicken, lamb, and fish with brown rice or oatmeal. They also have a grain-free option for your gluten-sensitive pooch. This is available in both wet food or dry kibble.
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Diamond Naturals Light Formula
Finally, another affordable option, Diamond Naturals manages to keep prices down by including more affordable grains than expensive meats, which means it is at the high range of what you would want in terms of protein and carbohydrate balance.
The recipe starts with lamb meal as its first ingredient, with the protein in the recipe is topped up with chicken fat. We then see a range of healthy grains including whole grain brown rice, oatmeal, cracked pearled barley, and grain sorghum among other things. These are all healthy whole grains that are good for your dog to eat, but there is just a little bit too much of it in the recipe.
The nutrient pack for this recipe is comprehensive, and it also uses a wide range of fresh fruits and vegetables, including spinach cranberries, papaya, and coconut, as natural sources of many of the vitamins and minerals that dogs need. The recipe also contains a healthy dose of probiotics to aid digestion.
Pros
- Animal meal as first ingredient
- High in carbohydrates
If you are looking for a quality kibble to complement a high-protein wet food diet, then Diamond Naturals contains a good amount of the right kinds of grains.
Blue Buffalo Dog Food No Grain
Blue Buffalo Wilderness Adult Dog Food Grain Free, Natural at PetSmart. Shop all dog canned food online
Blue Buffalo Small Breed Freedom Grain Free Chicken Recipe Adult Dog Food is made with the finest natural ingredients ingedients chosen with great care by our.
A NATURAL DOG FOOD: Blue dry dog food is made with the finest natural ingredients enhanced with vitamins and minerals Blue contains No chicken by-product meals, corn, wheat, soy, artificial flavors or preservatives Contains one 24-lb bag of BLUE Wilderness High Protein, Natural Adult Dry Dog Food, Chicken
14 aug. 2019.
Grain-free formula · No allergens like soy, wheat, eggs, or chicken · Uses real duck meat as the first ingredient · Lifesource Bits for a boost in.
A NATURAL DOG FOOD: BLUE dry dog food is made with the finest natural ingredients enhanced with vitamins and minerals BLUE contains NO chicken by-product meals, corn, wheat, soy, artificial flavors or preservatives Contains one 4lb bag of BLUE Basics Limited Ingredient Diet, Grain Free Natural Adult Dry Dog Food, Lamb & Potato
BLUE Freedom is a delicious, 100% grain free formula that contains no gluten. All BLUE Freedom dog food recipes feature high-quality real meat with no chicken by-product meals. Set your dog free from grains with this tasty, satisfying diet.BLUE Freedom dog food is a product of the Blue Buffalo company.
importers of ready-to-eat dog and cat food.
And that figure shows no signs of.
Similar to when choosing the best dog.
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Blue Buffalo Freedom Grain
This recipe is a good choice for typically active medium or large breed dogs, such as Bulldogs and German Shepherds.
The meat protein comes solely from high-quality chicken and turkey, so its a good choice if your dog is allergic to beef or isnt a fan of fishy formulas. Also, the carbs come in for the form of potatoes and peas, making it suitable for dogs with grain allergies. The carb levels are quite high, so it is not a good choice for overweight dogs.
There is 400mg/kg of glucosamine, so, as with the previous recipe, I think it is a good choice for dogs prone to joint problems.
Blue Buffalo Freedom Grillers Hearty Lamb Dinner
- Overall: 4 out of 5
- Flavor: 3.5 out of 5
- Ingredients: 4 out of 5
- Packaging: 4 out of 5
This wet food recipe features chunks of lamb in a savory gravy sauce. It is packed with vegetables, complex carbs, and plenty of nutrition for your pup. Like all Blue Freedom formulations, this one does not contain preservatives, by product meals, grains, or gluten.
The lamb formula feedback is kind of split between customers, although a great majority still favor the food. Only 80% of the 37 reviewers recommended the meal, and only 65% gave it a five-star rating.
For the positive ratings, most of them are because of pets that found this food tasty. And according to one reviewer, this food does not make her pup itch as much as his previous dog foods.
There are quite a few one-star ratings, however. 11% is a big chunk of the total reviews. The negative complaints stem from the number of dogs that turn their nose up at this wet food diet.
One other very valid complaint has to do with the ingredient. Even if the product says it is a lamb dinner, the label says it also contains chicken and chicken organs.
This might be a good recipe for dogs that are not allergic to chicken, but for those pups who are food-sensitive, its not a good buy.
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